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A sailing ship is a wind-powered ship. Historically, sailing ships were the primary means of transportation across long distances of water (e.g. rivers, lakes, oceans) before the invention of the first workable steam engines. They were used for carrying cargo, passengers, mail, supplies etc. In modern times sailing ships are less common but are still used in some parts of the world, such as the Indian Ocean, as commercial vessels. ...
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Choosing The Right Boat For You
By John Rodgers
If youre a first time boat buyer the choice of boats available for purchase can be bewildering. How do you make sense of all the choices? Well, the first time boat buyer needs to avoid Read more...
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Mini-Cruiser Sailboats
Do you love sailing, and want to cruise but on a small budget. If so, a mini-cruiser sailboat could be for you. These boats are inexpensive, easy to handle, can be kept at home and trailed to the water, but can be sailed long distances. Most of all they are huge fun.
Most mini-cruiser have a small cabin with a couple of berths and rudimentary necessities, but some do not have a cabin but are designed to be become a floating tent when you stop somewhere overnight. Although one of these, a Drascombe Lugger, has sailed halfway round the world, an open boat is not recommended for cruising.
For a start, unless you have a cabin, it is difficult to keep bedding and charts dry in bad weather, and at the end of long day's cruising you might just want to lie down below and sleep! Also, if the wind is howling you want to be able to get below, and not try to rig a canvas tent. Open boats or dayboats- are fine for day cruising, but you really need a cabin for much more.
Lots of mini-cruiser
There is a huge range to choose from, starting with the West Wight Potter 14 footer up to the Montgomery 23, the Cornish Crabbers, (British) Hunter Sonata of 22-feet, Virgo Voyager 23 and Folkboats which are 25-footers. There is a list of more mini-cruiser below, but there are so many it is impossible to list them all.
What you need for cruising
What is important in a mini-cruiser sailboat? First, it should sail well, should have enough space for two to sleep, have a toilet probably a Porta-Potti or similar a small cooker, gas or paraffin, a table for eating and plotting on charts. You must have navigation lights on all except the smallest boats, and you will want a VHF radio.
Because you need these things, you must have a decent battery and a method of charging it. I recommend a small solar panel to trickle charge the battery, and if you have an outboard get one that has an alternator, or which can be modified to drive an alternator.
Some of the larger mini-cruiser have inboard diesels, which is much better as fuel consumption is low,they are designed to keep chugging for long periods, and they always come with an alternator. But most mini-cruiser have outboard motors. Just remember that most outboards need to be revved up now and again, and are not happy going very slowly.
Most have lift-keels
What about the boat itself? Well, a lift keel is very convenient because you will be able to anchor in very shallow creeks, and should you run aground, you just pull
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up the keel and slide off. However, some mini-cruiser come with a fixed keel like the Red Witch or a keel with a centerboard to increase draft. The shallow keel with centerboard is a good option, as it will have more ballast, which makes the boat behave better in heavy weather and not heel so much.
The Montgomery 17 is a good example of a mini-cruiser sailboat designed for cruising from the start. It is designed to sail well, with a shallow keel and centerboard, and quite a lot of ballast. You can go anywhere in a mini-cruiser sailboat like this, despite it being only 17 feet long, with a beam of 7 feet 4 inches, and the draft is 3 feet, but only 1 foot 9 inches with the centerboard up. Although the hull is fiberglass, has clinker-built lines, and looks very smart indeed. It has a conventional rig, good stowage space and just about room for sleeping and living below.
More spacious is the West Wight Potter 19, which has a high coachroof that some people might think detracts from the appearance but it is practical, with four berths below, and room for plenty of stuff. It has s sink and water tank, marine Porta-Potti, and cooker powered by butane gas.
The West Wight Potter 19 is actually 18 feet 6 inches LOA, has a beam of 7 feet, and a draft of only 8 inches with the keel up, or 3 feet 7 inches when sailing. There is 300 lb ballast, and the displacement is 1,350 lb. A 5hp outboard motor is standard.
The Cornish Crabber range of yachts include gaff and Bermudian rigs, and are traditional designs suitable for cruising 17, 19 and 22 feet.
For more comfort, you need to go up to 22-25 feet, which is where a sailboat ceases to be a mini-cruiser sailboat in fact, some would say that 21 feet is the maximum size, but I include these as a 23-footer is more like a 19-footer in layout and weight than a 28-foot cruising yacht.
There are plenty of boats in the 22-24 feet range, and Jester, which completed many trans-Atlantic voyages was only 23 feet. Here are some good mini-cruiser the dimensions indicate the overall length (LOA):
West Wight Potter 14, 15 and 19
Montgomery 15, 17
Cornish Crabber 17
Silhouette 18
Hunter (British) 19
Cornish Shrimper (19 feet)
Didi Cruiser Mini (21 feet) a but racy this but designed for cruising
Ventura 20
Edel 22
Neptun 22
Cornish Crabber 22
Jaguar 23
Hunter (British) Sonata (22 feet) and 23
Montgomery 23
Folkboat (25 feet)
Virgo Voyager 23
Contessa 26 now this is a real yacht!
Have Your Boat Trips Arranged For A Fun Vacation!
By Ainuddin Mohamad
Any form of water is truly an amazing sight to see and explore. That is why many people are exerting much time and resources to make the most out of boating experiences. Some people prefer Read more...
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Trailerable Sailboats
Do you have enough room to keep a sailboat of, 20-27 feet at home? If so, you should consider a trailerable sailboat, as this will save you a lot of money. Of course, you need a car that is Read more...
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Mini-Cruiser Sailboats
Do you love sailing, and want to cruise but on a small budget. If so, a mini-cruiser sailboat could be for you. These boats are inexpensive, easy to handle, can be kept at home and trailed Read more...
|
Mini-Cruiser Sailboats
Do you love sailing, and want to cruise but on a small budget. If so, a mini-cruiser sailboat could be for you. These boats are inexpensive, easy to handle, can be kept at home and trailed Read more...
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